The Two Ways to Make a Living as a Writer

by Maria

How to make a living as a writer

But first, the publishing news worth reading this week:

Sorry, You Can’t Speed Read (Jeffrey Zacks and Rebecca Treiman for The New York Times): “Our favorite Woody Allen joke is the one about taking a speed-reading course. ‘I read ‘War and Peace’ in 20 minutes,’ he says. ‘It’s about Russia.’” So in case you don’t have time to read this article, it’s about why we don’t have time to read.

Creating Easy Branded Images for Your Blog and Social Media (Kirsten Oliphant on JaneFriedman.com): Including a gorgeous image with your online content is such an important part of branding! Here’s the ever-savvy Kirsten Oliphant on Jane Friedman’s blog with some quick and easy tips for designing graphics, even if you’re not a graphic designer.

Integrating a Personal Brand with a Book Brand (Chadwick Cannon): I get asked questions about book and brand integration all the time–things like “Should my book have its own website?” “Should my book look just like my blog?” This is a great explainer on the 7 most common brand integration questions.

How and When to Catch the Elusive Publicity Department–Part 2 of 2 (Lizzy Mason on Pub Crawl): Here’s the second half of Lizzy Mason’s piece on working with your in-house publicist. Lizzy is the Director of Publicity at Bloomsbury Children’s Books, and you can find Part 1 here.

The Two Ways to Make a Living as a Writer

I’ve written about my journey with minimalism before (and the wonderful book that got me there), but I think there are so many more practical lessons that creatives can take from this growing trend.

The way I see it, there are two ways to make a living as a writer.

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How to Get Your Dream Job in Book Publishing

by Maria

how to become a literary agent

But first, the book publishing stories worth reading this week:

Research Backs Up the Instinct That Walking Improves Creativity (Quartz): “The act of walking itself, rather than the sights encountered on a saunter, was key to improving creativity, they found.”

The Amazon Sales Game: Mastering Reviews and the Author Page (Chadwick Cannon): “There are two killer ways that an author can use Amazon’s features to bring in higher sales: reviews and Author Central.”

Audible, Long Known Only for Audiobooks, Is Branching Out Into Podcasts–and News (NiemanLab): “The podcast/audio world has been waiting for Audible to make its big move into the space. It’s here, including original content from major publishers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post.”

A New Platform for Serialized Work: Tapas Media (Jane Friedman): “On the reader-facing side, Tapas offers bite-sized stories and the ability to try any story free before purchasing or ‘unlocking’ installments. To unlock new installments, a reader might invite friends to read, watch ads, complete some other offer, or simply wait. (The founders are calling it ‘Candy Crush meets books.’)”

How to Get Your Dream Job in Book Publishing

I received an email a few weeks ago that stood out to me. It wasn’t about how to get published—it was about how to work in publishing.

As Becky wrote:

“I am an aspiring writer as well as an aspiring publisher. I am 26, and have been interested in publishing since I left high school. I studied English, History and Art History at university, and applied for a publishing degree but didn’t get in because I didn’t have any publishing experience as of yet.

I worked in an office job for 5 years, moved to London, and now am working as a legal secretary. But I really really want to get into the publishing world in any way I can. Being in London, I feel I am in the right place (so many book shops and literary festivals!) to start my career.

Do you have any advice on how to get started in the wonderful world of publishing? I am willing to start wherever I need to. All I know is, it’s my passion and it’s what I want/need to do.”

Ah! I love this question. You made my day, Becky.

I love it because I think there’s nothing more worthwhile than fighting hard to make it in publishing. And I love it because I think there are too many people out there who will tell you it’s not worth it.

So before we get even another paragraph in, let’s get a few things out of the way:

  • Yes, you will make very little money (at first).
  • Yes, you will work long hours.
  • Yes, you will get promoted more slowly than your friends in other industries.
  • Yes, you will encounter difficult personalities and possibly cutthroat office cultures.
  • But, yes, it is the greatest work in the world.

(And yes, you’ll get free books. Free books! If just the thought of that makes your heart jump, keep reading.)

With those downsides in mind, if the very idea of working with books every day still thrills you, then you belong in publishing.

Note the difference there: it should be the craft of publishing, not the craft of writing that most fascinates you. Yes, writing is a hugely important part of any worthwhile book, but if your real dream is to be a writer, then don’t spend your life working on someone else’s art. You don’t want to be that kind of frustrated writer. (And while many people in the publishing industry get the chance to write every day, or even publish their own books, it’s by no means the most direct path to a writing career.)

But if everything about books, from the typography, to the editing, to the marketing, to the intricacies of the supply chain, makes you itch with joy, then publishing is your home. And it’s a very happy home, if you ask me!

So if you’re sure that publishing is your home, but you haven’t a clue how to get in the front door, start here. This is the exact method I used to land my first (unpaid) publishing internship, as well as my first full-time editorial assistant job. I’ve also incorporated a lot of the insight and methods I’ve seen work for others. While anyone will tell you that there isn’t ONE way to get into publishing, this method will help you create a custom game plan so you can chart your own path.

A 7-Step Game Plan to Help You Get Your Dream Job in Book Publishing

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The One Piece of Advice I Give Every Single Aspiring Author

by Maria

literary agent advice for writers to get published

But first, the book publishing stories worth reading this week:

Your Biggest Book Marketing or Platform Building Roadblocks – And How to Overcome Them (The Book Designer): This is a wonderfully detailed guide that tackles the 5 biggest obstacles writers face when trying to get their books out into the world. If you’re having trouble reaching your “dream readers,” feel like you don’t have enough time or money for a platform, or are struggling to see engagement on your platform, this is a great place to start.

J.K. Rowling posts letters of rejection on Twitter to help budding authors (The Guardian): “When she pitched under the name Galbraith without revealing her true identity, she faced many more snubs. Since then, Galbraith has published three successful novels but the first was rejected by several publishers, and Rowling was even advised to take a writing course.”

The Art of Influence: Who’s an Influencer, Who’s an Endorser, and How Do I Talk to Them? (Chadwick Cannon): “People don’t trust brands. They rarely trust strangers. But they do trust familiar people.”

The Charming Doodles Charles Darwin’s Children Left All Over the Manuscript of ‘On the Origin of Species’ (Brain Pickings): “In contemplating family, work, and happiness, Charles Darwin proclaimed: ‘Children are one’s greatest happiness, but often & often a still greater misery. A man of science ought to have none.’ And yet he and Emma had ten.”

Relevant (Literary Agent Donald Maass on Writer Unboxed): “Being relevant is not the same as being topical. Nor is it the same as being resonant. Topical stories have the quality of being current, ripped out of the headlines, a take on what is happening right now. Resonant stories are less immediate. They echo in the mind. They cause us to reflect and ponder. ”

The One Piece of Advice I Give Every Single Aspiring Author

The weather is gorgeous here in DC, submissions to publishers are in full swing, and the spring publishing season is chockfull of wonderful books. (Try this gorgeous cookbook, or this personal favorite.)

And today I’m on Kirsten Oliphant’s podcast, Create If Writing, chatting about everything from how the traditional publishing process works to what I look for when signing clients. Kirsten is incredibly savvy and hard-working–she writes books, hosts a podcast, leads online courses, and writes a blog, all while being a mom and wife. I actually think she may be the Beyoncé of our little writing blog community. All signs point to yes.

We were able to get in deep and talk about some of the most important topics that plague aspiring writers today:

  • How to get excited about building a platform (even when you really, really don’t want to)
  • Why you don’t need to be a used car salesman for your book
  • What a typical day in the life of a Literary Agent looks like (spoiler alert: a lot less glamor than you’d think)
  • How to avoid a lie-awake-at-night-in-fear book launch
  • How focusing on your own personal development can also help you in your writing career
  • Why you should buy your name as a domain (and how I failed at this)
  • The one piece of advice I give to every single aspiring author

Click here to listen to the full interview!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

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The 4 Elements of a Knock-Out Conference Pitch (And Book Deal News for THE HAPPY TRAVELER by Jaime Kurtz, Ph.D.)

by Maria

how to pitch an agent at a writer's conference

But first, the stories worth reading this week:

Killer Takeaways From a Bestselling Book Launch (Chad Cannon on MichaelHyatt.com): This is the must-read article of the week! Chad Cannon gives us a behind-the-curtain look at how Michael Hyatt recently launched his newest bestseller, Living Forward. “Our marketing team built out a launch plan over a year ago and spent countless hours refining and executing it in anticipation of release day. Lots of strategy and hours of rich, dynamic discussion. And I’m proud—and humbled—to say that we dove into release day with more than 18,500 preorders.” That is a very, very nice number.

James Patterson Has a Big Plan for Small Books (Alexandra Alter for The New York Times): I get giddy seeing this sort of publishing innovation happening. James Patterson wants to make books more mainstream so that they’ll appeal to the 27% of Americans who read zero books last year. As he says, “’You can race through these — they’re like reading movies….It gives people some alternative ways to read.’” If you ask me, getting more people to read is always a good thing, no matter what they’re reading.

Hot: A Theory of Propulsion (Seth Godin): “The cliché was that the author used to live for the solitary moments of considered thought and solo writing. ‘Leave me alone and let me write.’ The publisher paid the bills with the backlist, the old books that sold and sold. Today, without propulsion, most people aren’t making the time or the focus to pursue inert wisdom. Without motion, the words get moldy.”

And Some Select Author Press: Congratulations to Francine Jay and Amanda Sullivan on the great feature in Publisher’s Weekly of new House & Home books releasing this spring. And another round of congrats to Francine on her New York Times review and for being selected by Amazon as one of the Big Spring Books of 2016. Francine’s beautiful book launches on April 26th, but you can already preorder your copy today!

The 4 Elements of a Knock-Out Pitch (And Book Deal News for THE HAPPY TRAVELER by Jaime Kurtz, Ph.D.)

I love book deal announcement days. There’s no hiding that (in fact, you can see more announcements here). I think it’s just because I’m a hopeless gusher—I love, love, love bragging on the smart people I get to work with. And I love using the word “love” too much. I can’t help it.

So today I’m excited to introduce you to Dr. Jaime Kurtz, who will be writing The Happy Traveler: Travel Better, Smarter, and More Happily, No Matter How Near or Far You Roam for Oxford University Press. Here’s the official deal report from Publisher’s Marketplace:

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